PINE MOUNTAIN, Ga. -- Callaway Gardens has sold another 2,560 acres of land that the chairman says puts the Pine Mountain resort on sound financial footing.

Chairman Edward Callaway said the forested land was sold to Atlanta real estate broker Brad Smith for $4.63 million. Smith said he plans to use it for recreation. The deal completes Callaway Gardens' strategy of selling off large pieces of land to pay down a debt that had grown to more than $44 million.

The sales have slashed the land holdings from 13,000 acres to about 6,000. But Edward Callaway, who's the grandson of the founders, says the attraction now has its head well above water and attendance is picking up.